The Peanut Gallery

Baxter's Buzz I am always amazed by people. How they conduct themselves. Are they shy? Awkward? Are they overcompensating for something? Are they just super cool people? I don't "people watch," per se. I just pick up on certain vibes and once I do pick up on a particular vibe, I become more attentive. Your work environment can feel a lot like high school sometimes. There will always be those who love to gossip, love to be the center of attention, and love to think they're too cool for everyone else (amongst other types). Believe it or not, there are still bullies in corporate America (and not just the rich big wigs). I remember in college when everyone thought they could start their lives over, in a sense and shake any reputation they carried in prior years that they weren't too fond of. But you are pretty much who you are and your "new" persona usually fades away eventually. I had a guy at work tell me recently, "I knew you were getting your promotion probably before you even knew." Really? Who in the hell does he know? Nobody, that's who! We have some new roles being filled at work now and the gossips will have their conspiracy theories once positions are filled. The worse thing you can do is agree with a fool! All they need is one person to go along with their foolish ideas or made up lies and they believe that they are justified. My goal is to always steer clear of the fools. I don't want to be associated with the gossips because in my view, they are the only uncool kids around. We must focus our energy lifting one another up. We must encourage our friends, family and coworkers alike. If you have time to spread rumors, you have time to look in the mirror and work on improving your situation. I have to believe it's pretty tough to do both. So next month I'll be 32 years old and my thought process hasn't changed when it comes to an environment similar to high school: I'd rather be the one being talked about than the one doing the talking. Hopefully I'll always be too busy handling my own business to be worried about some else's.